No truth to RHS threat rumorsRumors circulated throughout Russellville on Friday concerning an altercation at the high school, which escalated after the appearance of police officers at the school. But those rumors, which grew to such exaggerated proportions as to claim that there were shots fired and knife fights at the school, were unfounded. “This is one of those cases where the rumors got way ahead of the facts,” Superintendent Randall Williams said. “Living in the ti...

Police respond to threat at RHSEditor's note — The original version of this story was inadvertently deleted by a staff member. We regret the error. The Russellville Police Department had extra officers on the campus of Russellville High School Friday following rumors of premeditated violence at the school. The response by RPD came after officers investigated rumors of threats of violence that would be carried out on the high school campus today, a statement from RPD Public ...

School board creates new job, reduces elsewhereThe Russellville School Board passed two noteworthy items at its meeting Tuesday— one that creates a job and another that will reduce jobs elsewhere in the school district. The school board approved a motion to create a communications specialist position within the district, that will oversee the district’s social media accounts and its websites, among other things. The position reflects the growing trend of hiring district-wide communications...

Ohio woman, 106, finally gets high school diploma COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A 106-year-old central Ohio woman who completed classes but didn’t graduate in a dispute over a book has received her high school diploma. The News Journal in Mansfield reported the Mount Vernon superintendent presented Reba Williams with the diploma Wednesday at her apartment in Columbus. She even got to wear a traditional graduation cap brought by the retired Mount Vernon English teacher who urged the school board to aw...

Students get big-rig trainingHECTOR — Young drivers have a better chance of survival on the road, after Southwestern Energy (SWN) of Conway provided defensive driver training Wednesday and today for students in grades 9-12. The “Alive@25” program is designed, but not limited to educating young drivers to deal with issues related to defensive driving while in the vicinity of 18-wheelers. “This is the first time Southwestern Energy has sponsored this program for our kids,” ...

RHS quiz bowl wins 6A West tournamentGREENWOOD — The Russellville High School quiz bowl team took top honors at the 6A West Regional tournament on Saturday, finished the day with a 5-1 record and earned a spot in the state tournament. Russellville got off to a shaky start with a opening-round loss to Lake Hamilton on the last question, 205-195. However, that shaky round would be the last of the day as the Cyclones then stormed their way to the title. The loss served as a wake-up ...

LA schools settle claims over lewd ’tasting games’ LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles school district will pay millions of dollars to settle claims and lawsuits filed by students and families from an elementary school where a third-grade teacher was accused of spoon-feeding children semen in what he called “tasting games,” lawyers in the cases said Tuesday. District officials did not reveal the total amount of the settlement, but attorney Raymond Boucher, who represents several Miramonte Eleme...

Education board renews charters for 3 schools LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The State Board of Education has renewed the charters for three independently run schools and approved a new charter school in the Bauxite district. The board voted Monday to renew the charters for the KIPP Delta Charter Schools in Phillips and Mississippi counties and the eStem charter school in Little Rock. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://is.gd/L6bSEL ) that both renewals are for 10 years. The board als...

Education a team effortLast week, Sheila Jacobs stepped into the role as Russellville High School’s interim principal following Sammy Ussery’s abrupt resignation, a position she finds both humbling, exciting, and challenging. “I thought that this was an absolutely incredible opportunity,” she said. “The primary thing I was thinking was the responsibility and impact that we together as Russellville High School could have on students.” It’s also a position that she fi...

A delicious way to learnCrawford Elementary students add pizza sauce to their personal pizzas they made Thursday morning in the school cafeteria. A group of students at the school became “roving chefs” under the direction of Chef Justin Mills of Southwest Foodservice who taught the students how to make their own personal pizza while showing the children the different types of fruits and vegetables. Students were also taken on a tour of the kitchen to see where their ...

Dover School Board looks to hire officerThe Dover School Board considered the possibility of hiring a resource officer at its monthly meeting earlier this week, a process that could be complicated by funding issues. Currently, the district does not have a paid resource officer. In the past, the school has worked in conjunction with the Pope County Sherriff’s Office and Dover Marshal, who would appoint an officer to come visit the schools at different points in the day. But with the ...

Rodney Parks to speak at Arkansas Tech todayArkansas Tech University alumnus Rodney Parks will return to campus to address students and faculty as part of the Arkansas Tech College of Business Distinguished Speaker Series today. Parks will speak in John E. Tucker Coliseum beginning at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. A 1991 graduate of Arkansas Tech, Parks worked in the banking industry for 20 years before accepting his current position as director of development for ...

Arkansas Tech celebrates 1,000 online studentsArkansas Tech University President Dr. Robert C. Brown made a promise in 2011 that when the institution’s Accelerated Degree Program enrolled its 1,000th student, he would host a reception in honor of the faculty and staff who made it possible. It took just 16 months for Arkansas Tech to reach that milestone. The university enrolled its 1,000th student in the Accelerated Degree Program in January, and the reception celebrating that accomplishm...

Ussery: Health issues led to resignationRumors circulated throughout Russellville following Sammy Ussery’s abrupt resignation from his position as principal of Russellville High School, but Ussery quelled those rumors in an interview with The Courier on Wednesday. Ussery said he submitted his resignation Monday following the discovery Friday of certain gastrointestinal health issues that plagued him throughout a majority of this semester. While Ussery said that the illness isn’t lif...

Oakland Heights Elementary celebrates African American historyOakland Heights Elementary School hosted its Celebration of African American History: Trail Blazers in Arkansas program on Wednesday at the cafeteria. The program was made up of students from all age groups, and included music, education and a visit from the Arkansas National Guard. A significant portion of the program covered the “Little Rock Nine.” Oakland Height students, primarily from the third and fourth grades took on the roles of those...

Schools shift from textbooks to tablets WASHINGTON (AP) — Well before the cleanup from Superstorm Sandy was in full swing, students could read about the weather system that slammed the East Coast in their textbooks. Welcome to the new digital bookcase, where traditional ink-and-paper textbooks have given way to iPads and book bags are getting lighter. Publishers update students’ books almost instantly with the latest events or research. Schools are increasingly looking to the hand-h...

Comet making closest approach ever of EarthCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A recently discovered comet is closer than it's ever been to Earth, and stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere finally get to see it. Called Pan-STARRS, the comet is passing within 100 million miles of Earth on Tuesday, its closest approach. This ice ball will get even nearer the sun this weekend — just 28 million miles from the sun. That's within the orbit of Mercury. The comet has been visible for weeks from the So...

RJHS competes against high schools in Spanish competitionRussellville Junior High School competed in their district Spanish competition Saturday. 31 schools competed in the event from places such as West Memphis, Rogers, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, ASMSA, Lisa Academy, Russellville High School and many others. RJHS was the only junior high to compete in the event, but still had to compete against the high schools. There were 15 Distinguished Ribbons and 10 Advanced Ribbons. They are as f...

Professor heads up Syrian opposition's US offices LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - As a professor at the University of Arkansas, Syrian-born Najib Ghadbian is no stranger to educating Americans about the Middle East. Now, he's taking his knowledge beyond the classroom, stepping into a new role as the Syrian opposition coalition's representative in the United States. In teaching political science, Ghadbian has sometimes asked students to label countries on a blank map of the region. "And out of 25 cou...

Schools and future teachers turn out for Tech’s career fairThe weather was more agreeable for a second chance to attend the annual education job fair on Thursday. The finest of Arkansas Tech’s education program were on hand to network with teacher recruiters. Dana Florian, director of Tech’s Norman Career Services, was in charge of heading up the event. This was her second education fair since taking over as director. Many of the institutions that planned to be at the fair were unable to accommodate t...